Israel Adesanya has defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Yoel Romero at UFC 248.

After months of build-up, the bout itself didn't live up to the hype, with Adesanya winning 48-47 48-47 49-46 on the scorecards.

Adesanya addressed the relative lack of action after the fight.

"It was a hard fight, but - cliche - I did what I had to do," he said.

"I touched his leg up, he'll be limping. He touched me in the first round and that was the hardrest shot he could land on me.

"After that I knew I could take his best shot and I picked him apart.

"But that leg don't lie. I f***ed his leg up. I did what I had to do to win that fight.

"He plays the game. He tries to get you into a false sense of security.

"I was hoping to touch him a little more, but unfortunately I engaged with someone who didn't want to dance."

Romero stood in the middle of the Octagon and didn't move for the first 30 seconds of the fight. He just stood there with his guard up while Adesanya feinted and waited.

They'd barely touched each other through two minutes, with referee Dan Miragliotta instructing them to fight.

Romero landed a left kick to Adesanya's thigh halfway through the round, before the Stylebender connected with a right hand.

The explosive Romero landed the best shot of the first round, putting the Kiwi on notice.

The shot may have caught Adesanya in the eye, with the champion blinking and touching as the round closed.

Boos rang out around T-Mobile Arena at the end of the round. The crowd were expecting big things after an incredible strawweight fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main.

Romero landed a huge counter left hook to open the second round, but Adesanya was slightly busier as the round wore on.

Romero had his best moment of the fight with just over two minutes left in the round, backing Adesanya into the cage. By the end of the round, it became clear that Romero was content to wait and look for a huge shot over the top on the counter.

Adesanya utilised more and more kicks in the third, finding some success by targetting the body.

Ahead of the fourth round, Miragliotta gave both men a warning: "you've gotta give the judges something to score.

"You're getting paid for a Championship fight."

But, there was only more frustration after Romero was caught by an inadvertant eye-poke, forcing the doctor to assess him.

The fight continued though, with Romero finally attempting a takedown. Adesanya hit the mat, but bounced straight back up.

Romero finally began forcing the pace, but found fresh air more than anything, while Adesanya zeroed in on the Cuban's right leg.

Romero ended the bout with a huge welt over his right knee.

After all the build-up, it will be remembered as a bizarre title fight more than anything.